"The
following is a guest review. The review
and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford
or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the
guest author."

I'm actually running three
reviews of the same figure tonight, because that's how cool the new Hot
Toys Godfather is! You can check
out my review, as well as Jeff
Parker's review, but Wayne Harrelson aka “Karnis” is also
taking the figure through its paces. Tell us all about it, Wayne!

The Godfather is widely renowned as one of the best achievements in
American filmmaking, and rightly so. Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 crime
drama masterpiece is ranked as the second greatest film (behind Citizen
Kane) by the American Film Institute, and has been selected for
preservation by the U.S. National Film Registry. It legitimized Coppola
as one the top directors of his era, solidified Marlon Brando as one of
America’s greatest actors, and helped launch the careers of Al Pacino
and Diane Keaton. It boasts one of the most recognizable pieces of
modern day movie theme music, and one of the best catch phrases of all
time…”I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” It spawned what is
widely considered the greatest sequel of all time, The Godfather Part
2, which also helped propel the acting career of Robert DeNiro. Did I
mention the film also won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor
& Best Adapted Screenplay (based on Mario Puzo’s best selling
1969 novel)? The Godfather is a timeless cinematic classic,
spanning 10 years from 1945 to 1955, and tells the story of the
fictional Corleone crime family.

Hot Toys celebrates The Godfather with its 12” Movie Masterpiece Series
release #91, Don Vito Corleone himself, The Godfather. Let’s take an
in-depth look at this magnificent figure…one that I believe has strong
merits for the figure of the year.

Packaging - ****The box itself is quite tall in
relation to most of Hot Toys other
MMS releases, standing almost 22 inches tall and more than 7 inches
deep. The design is a very sleek black and white scheme with a raised,
velvety red profile of The Don, and it sports a minimalist look,
eschewing the trend of movie style graphics and figure photos on the
outside of the box. Pop it open, and you find 2 separate boxes; one
houses the carpeted platform, the printed 3 sided backdrop & a
very
nice booklet detailing the production of the figure. The second box
contains the figure itself and all the accessories, including the Don’s
famous office chair; more on the extras later. You’ll be pleased to
know this is a collector’s dream package, and not a single twist tie in
sight. As you unpack this beast of a package, you realize that what you
have in your hands in the finest example of packaging by Hot Toys to
date, and can only be described as extremely classy.

Sculpting - ****
I’m just going to say it…this is a work of art. Hot Toys has nailed the
face sculpt right down to the finest details. The skin texture, the
eyes, the mouth and jowls, the hairline, the facial hair and Brando’s
famous profile, is reproduced perfectly and the likeness is downright
uncanny. Every angle you view the face at just says “Godfather”. Hot
Toys has hit this one out of the park, and may be their finest human
facial sculpt to date. The hands are very well done, aged slightly to
match the face, and sport The Don’s wedding ring. The fingers are
somewhat soft to assist in posing with some of the accessories, and
scale well to the rest of the body. Even The Don’s black leather shoes
are sculpted down to the finest detail. Standing right about 12 inches
tall, the True Type body has been embellished with a puffy undergarment
to help fill out The Don’s slightly overweight build, starting at the
waist and continuing down to mid thigh. The end result is possibly Hot
Toys best work on a human subject yet!

Paint - ****
Hot Toys figures usually are some of the most realistic looking
production pieces available on the market, and the paint application
excels on The Godfather. Flesh tones are spot on; the eyes look perfect
with no laziness to them and a glossy finish to give them life. There
is no evidence of slop anywhere and the detail work on the skin, right
down to the age spots on the face & veins on the hands, are
exceptional. The hairline again is perfect, and the scalp is a perfect
shade of gray. Even The Don’s rose is a spot-on shade of red with a
green stem. It’s hard to believe this is a production paint job.

Articulation - ***1/2
The Godfather uses the True-Type body, with a padded undergarment to
bulk it out a bit. All of the joints are reasonably tight, and none
were considered too loose at all. The figure stood well on its own,
which means no issues with the hip or ankle joints (which I’ve
experienced before on previous, albeit older, Hot Toys figures). The
head swivels from side to side as well as up and down; combine that
with the adjustable neck post and you can add that extra touch of
character to your poses. The hands swap relatively easily,
just use care as the posts are rather small and you don’t want to risk
breaking them by using excessive force. The only issue I had was
seating The Don in his chair; I couldn’t position him so his feet
touched the ground, and that may be because the chair tends to lean
back a bit. The only things holding back the figure for posing is the
bulk of the suit jacket and the shirt, and let’s face it: this is The
Godfather, not a superhero, so you won’t be trying to get too many
flying or other dynamic poses. You should be able to achieve many of
the iconic poses you’ve seen in the movie, especially in the early
office scenes with little to no problems.

Outfit - ****
The Don’s tuxedo is well tailored and fits him nicely, although you do
get a little bunching up around the shoulders when posing the arms, but
if you adjust the shoulders back a bit, that can be reduced. I had an
issue with the right tuxedo collar sticking up but I’m sure a little
water to dampen and weigh it down will clear that up. The jacket also
features working pockets, nice seam lines and well proportioned
buttons. The vest looks great, sports a leather watch strap, and has
three non working front buttons, although there are two snaps on the
inside to hold it closed. The white shirt is very well done as the
collar holds its shape perfectly (as does the black tie); the buttons
and seams are all tight and even the sleeves are adorned with cuff
links. It’s also worth noting that the sleeves are long enough to hide
the wrist joints in most poses, adding to the illusion of realism of
the piece. The pants are creased and fit him well; the padded
undergarment fills out his thighs so the trousers hang just right
without looking baggy. The length is perfect and falls on his black
shoes at just the right point. The shoes themselves have a nice glossy
finish and are highly detailed…and yes, The Don does have black dress
socks! The overall feel of the material is a nice cotton fabric and is
consistent throughout the whole suit. The rose on his jacket lapel is a
nice finishing touch, but use caution as there are just a couple of
threads securing it so it may be easy to either have the rose drop off
or bust the threads if you mess with it too much. Overall the suit
conforms to the high quality of the figure; it looks great, it feels
great and it fits great!

Accessories - ****
Hot Toys definitely went all out in the accessories department on this
one! Included with the figure you get two pairs of swappable hands
& an extra hand for holding The Don’s wine glass; the glass
itself (apparently he prefers red wine), his cat, his office chair, a
carpeted platform with faux gold nameplate, a printed full color
backdrop of his office, a sleek booklet covering the production of the
figure, and the requisite Hot Toys stand. The cat is fairly well
sculpted, although it does have the look of a frozen cat to some, I
find that in the right pose (especially if The Don is seated in his
chair with the cat in his lap) it looks pretty good. The booklet
features some great photos of the figure and provides some details,
credits & insights into the production of the piece. It’s very
well done in its own right and I suspect it was done to keep the
packaging nice and clean. The printed backdrop is a nice touch and
works well as a photo backdrop; however, those who use Ikea detlofs as
display cabinets will find it to be too tall for shelf use. But the
real attraction here is the addition of The Godfather’s office chair;
it’s a fantastic addition to the list of accessories and makes a
wonderful companion piece to the figure itself. It is highly detailed
with faux brass tacks, inlays and trim, with a swivel base and faux
leather cushions. It even has indentations to make it look like it’s
been broken in by The Don himself over the course of several years. The
5-sided platform is covered with a felt material to make it look like
carpet and fits the chair plus the figure separately with ease. Combine
this with the backdrop and it not only makes for a great display, but
those who love to photograph there figures will have a field day
recreating their favorite iconic poses from the movie!

Fun Factor - ****
As always, Hot Toys figures aren’t meant for little Joey to play with
on the kitchen floor. But big daddy Joey will have a blast displaying
this with his other high end figures, in the theater room, or wherever
he chooses. Older collectors who appreciate The Godfather films will no
doubt want to display this prominently; while it might not fit in with
your superhero or alien collectibles, it does display well on its own,
thanks to the addition of the chair, platform & backdrop if you
wish.

Value - ****At prices starting around
$140 and above at the usual online collectors shops, this figure isn’t
cheap, however, once you consider all factors involved…the quality of
The Don himself, the exquisite packaging, the accessories included, and
the usual prices you pay for high end collectors figures, there is
plenty of value to be had. I would recommend getting your preorder in
soon (if you still can) because when it sells out and the only option
is the secondary market, you can expect the cost to increase
significantly. If you are a collector of high end 1/6th scale figure
such as Hot Toys and are used to paying the associated costs, you’ll
appreciate the slightly lower cost compared to other Hot Toys figures
and recognize the value instantly.

Overall
- ****Once again, I’d like to
thank Michael for giving me an opportunity to post a review on his fine
site. It’s always a pleasure to interact with fellow collectors,
especially those whose hobby intersects with another popular passion,
the art of movies. There are few other films that define American
cinema as proudly as The Godfather movie, and Hot Toys has
distinguished themselves with their latest MMS figure of Don Vito
Corleone. An obvious labor of love, Hot Toys accomplished exactly what
they stated they would do; deliver the best ever 1/6th scale figure of
The Don himself. Boasting a final product that looks more like a
sculpture from Madame Tussauds Wax Museum than a sub $150 1/6th scale
figure, exquisite packaging and generous accessories, Hot Toys have
outdone themselves this time around, raising the bar for their
competitors as well as those of their own fans, creating a bit of a
dilemma; how do you top this? I can’t wait to find out!